Furnace for steam boilers for burning residual molasses



May 8, 1923. 1,454,586 H. A. GRIFFIN I v FURNACE FOR STEAM BOILERS FOR BURNING RESIDUAL MOLASSES Fi-led Dec. 6, 1921 -2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES nvmvma HUGH A. GRIFFIN.

A TTOR/VEVS May 8, 1923. 1,454,586

H. GRI FIN FURNACE FUR STEAM BOILERS FOR BURNING RES IDUAL MOLASSHS- Filed. Dec". 6, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a @mg A 7TOR/VEY8 Patented May a, 192 3.

UNHT

HUGH ALExANnER GRIFFIN, or LINDSAY, CALIFORNIA.

FURNACE roR's'rnAM BOILERS r03 BUR ING RESIDUAL Moms'sas.

Application filed ecember s, 1921. seiarivbfsaojsve;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH ALEXANDER GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lindsay, in the "county of Tulare and State of California, have invent ed certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces for Steam Boilers for Burning Residual Molasses, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to steam boilers, and more particularly to a steam generating apparatus which will burn and thus utilizefor steam generating purposes residual molasses and like prodnets of waste fluid, my object being the pro lasses in;such manner as to promote com-.

bustion of maximum efficiency. A 1

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention and forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a steam boiler such as I propose taken'on line 1-1 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a verticaltransverse section taken online 22 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partly in section, lookingfrorn the line 33 of Figure 1'. I

Referring now. to these figures it will be noted that the boiler 10 is arranged longitudinallyfin my improved molasses burning furnace above a hollowarch or bridge wall 11 and between the rear portion of the lat-- V ter and the rear furnace wall 12 a passageway-13 is leftforth'e products of combus.

' tion of the fire box l lso that these products can enter'the rear ends of the fire tubes15. The forward ends of-the'fire tubes 15 "discharge into a header 16 fromthe lower por 59 tion of which an ash discharge pipe .17

leads, ash arrestingmeans being employed in the header above the level. of theboiler and "consisting of a ,fiuid discharge pipe 18 which discharges a fsheetlor film of water 19' across the-header above'the discharge ends of the fire tubes, the water serving to arrest the ash and also to wash the isaine' steadily to any suitablepoint of discharge; through. 3 the ash discharge pi-pe 17 i 1 Within the lower portion of the' fire box 14: is "a grate 20 preferably of the'hOriZOntal sliding type, disposed on grate supports 21," and actuated by a connecting rod "226mm an external shaking lever 23. This "'ate may be in two sectionsfe'ach with its s fak ing lever23 and each with its-connecting rod 22, the latter of which may'lead into the fire box through slotted openings 24 in the 'fire box doors 25', the latter of which may have the usual, or in factanysuitable 7?) draft arrangements.

Into the side walls of the fiirnaee,

opposite the upper portion ofthe fire box, and below the arch or crown wall '11 are' set bearing supporting platesyand thej like27,"

each having one or more be'aring brackets 28' for hollow transverse shafts 29, whose portions, between the bearing brackets 28', are preferably squared as seen particularly in Figure 1 to receive thereon one or more cylinders EEO-whose function is to support cylindrical drip catchers 31 disposed inendwise abutting relation and in any suitable number onh the cyliiiders- Each of these I cylindrical dripv catching plates has flanged s5 ends 32 and is circumferentially dividedby 1 lengthwise ribs and the like into a'plu'rality of drip catching receptacles, which in the rotation of the cylinders with the drip catching plates thereon, receive molasse's w from transverse series of. drip apertures 34 of the arch or. crown wall '11,";arranged therein along "and above the-axes 'of the cylinders. V For thesupply of molasses,' a molasses supply pipe 35 extends into the hollow of the crown wall or arch 11 and has. diverg- 'ing and downwardly inclined branch 'd e+ livery pipes 36 whose lower curvediends enter the upper enlarged-p'ortions37 of tile- 10 0 drip apertures 34 so that from the single pipe 35, the drip or feed plates 31 of both cylinders may be supplied.

The drip or feed plates 31 may be keyed or otherwise secured upon the supporting cylinders 30, and the hollow shafts 29 are extended laterally beyond one side of the furnace to a sufficient distance adapting them to receive intereng'aging spur gears 38 and also adapting one of the shafts, as seen in Figure 2 to receive-a worm wheel 39 engaged by the worm 40 of a shaft ll mounted in brackets 42 at one side of the furnace and driven from any suitable source of power as for instance through a belt 43 and pulley l4.

Thus in action it is obvious that the two supporting cylinders 30 will be rotated in opposite directions and that due to this manner and means of feeding the molasses, the

latterv passes inwardly through the molasses supply pipe 35 and dripping from the branches 36 ofthis pipe, will be broken up and carried around the; cylinders by the drip or feed plates 31 in shallow pools and thus gradually heated to a point of ready combustion upon the final discharge of these shallow pools onto the fire on the grate 20.

In this way the molasses is freed from most of its dilution water by the heat of the fire before it reaches the flame and in this way is rendered much more eflicient as a fuel for it is in condition for instant combustion when the fiame is reached and is thus in condition to generate greater heat in the furnace.

The hollow shafts 29 on which the cylinders are mounted, are in practice continuously-supplied with water as a cooling fluid. which enters one end of each shaft and discharges from the other end and fwhich in its passage through the'shaft cools to b scribed in the header 16 which has a further the bearings thereof and maintains the parts in condition for effective operation.

Thus by the improved apparatus I propose, the molasses may be fed to the furnace in the first instance bygravity alone in the form of drip during the course of which as well as the uniform'feed of the molasses, its

dilution water is evaporated 'for theabove stated purposes. Y

Furthermore by this apparatus I'am enabled to provide for the effective utilization of otherwise wasted products of sugar fac- -tories and the like and I not only permit of the utilization of theseotherwise wasted products for effective purposes, but in such a way-that the ash, having a high fertilizing value, can be readily recovered, for instance y means of the ash arresting means deadvantage, that it will leave banking of ash near the boiler. I

I claim: a I 1, A molassesburning steam boilerfur nace having a fire box, a grate in the lower portion of the fire box, a crown wall over the fire box whose rear portion is spaced. from the rear wall of the furnace to form a passageway for the products of combustion of the fire box, a boiler above the crown wall having fire tubes whose rear ends are open to the said passageway, a header into which the forward ends of the tubes open, means for arresting ash Within and discharging the same from said header, said crown wall having apertures in..a line abovethe grate, pipes for feeding molasses by gravity through said apertures, and means within the upper portion of the fire box to retard.

the flow of molasses downwardly to the grate and within the firebox subject to the heat thereof.

2. A molasses burning steam boilerifurnace having a fire box, a grate in the lower portion of the fire box, a crown wall over the fireboxwhose rear portion is spaced from the rear wall of the furnace to'form a passageway for theproducts of combustion of the fire box, a boiler above the crown wall having fire tubes whose rear ends are open to the said passageway, a headerinto which v the forward ends of the tubes open, means for arresting ash within and discharging the same from said header, said crown wall having apertures in a line above the grate, pipes for feeding molasses by gravity through said apertures, and means within the upper por tion of the fire box to'retard the How of molassesdownwardly to the grate and within the firebox'subject to: the heat thereof, said last named means including a rotating cylinder having peripheral pockets to receive the molasses from said apertures, and means externally of the furnace for rotating said cylinder as and for; the purpose described.

3. In a molasses burning furnace having a hollow crown wall or arch over I the fire box provided with vertical apertures a fire box,

in a line, gravity connections feeding molasses into said apertures, and a rotatable cylinder below the apertures having peripheral pockets to receive the drip from the apertures, and the cylinder;

4. In a molasses burning furnace having a fire box, molasses feeding means including.

a grate in the fire box below:

rotatable cylinders in the upper'portio'n'of the fire box'having peripheral pockets inwhich the molasses is exposed to'the action of the heat of the fire box before it is finally dropped into the fire.-- l

5. In a molasses burning furnace having a fire box, molasses feeding means including horizontally disposed cylinders rotatable-in the upper portion of the fire box, having pe-i, 'ripheral pockets which delivermolassesto.

the fire at the lower portions of the cylinders, "and means for; feeding molasses by gravity to the upper portions of the cyltard the flow of molasses to the flame Within inders. the influence of the heat of the fire box, said 6. In a molasses burning furnace having last named means including rotating cyl- 1 a fire box, molasses feeding means including inders having peripheral pockets into which 5 gravity feed pipes leading to theupper pormolasses drips from the said feed pipes.

tion of the fire box, and means to receive molasses from the said pipes, acting to re- HUGH ALEXANDER GRIFFIN. 

